Not Near or Far
by Edragore
Summary: She met the BlitzkreigBoys in the Abbey, but she betrayed them and left. She has to join them now; how will that go? On the other note, she just betrayed her other team, too. Tala OC hinted in later chpts Past to Present. Death at end.
1. Chapter 2

Neither Near nor Far

Chapter 1

-Past-

"Ha, yet another display of why girls don't belong here; you're too weak, you can't even get up! We'll teach you to make a mockery of the Biovolt Abbey!" The Biovolt Abbey was a torture palace for all of the orphaned or abandoned children who happened to have some talent in beyblading. The green haired boy yelled at her as he sent the young 7 year old into the cold brick walls again. The other boys that had circled her began laughing as she attempted to regain her posture again; it was useless. Boris sama had already given her a lashing of 20 for miscalculating yet another of the more basic formulas used here in the Abbey. Her blanch-blue hair was held back, but because of the young man beating her, some strands that had been held back now loosely hung in front of her desolate plum colored eyes.

"Hey, why don't you boys pick on someone your own size, hm? Or, would you rather receive the satisfaction of knowing that you can beat up a girl who's younger than you by 3 years?" An unexpected, strong, masculine voice asked as the pale-blue haired child was getting herself prepared for yet another throw from the green haired male. He stopped and turned around just before he gave the young child yet another strike. The intense jade haired abnormality flashed the older unforeseen guest another of his trademark sinister smiles.

"You're just jealous that you didn't think of this before we did, Petrov!"The emerald-green boy was one of the many defects of the Abbey. His vile mustard eyes watched with ominous glee as the older unpredicted male reached out and secured a tight hold on his neck. "Oh, so the whale wants to play, eh? Ku-ku-ku...Well, now it's time for us to leave." The new comer released his grip on the aquamarine haired boy and watched as he ran off; he was muttering to himself the whole way back to where he was kept as a prisoner in the penal complex.

The rest of the crowd of males quickly departed and the blue-pastel haired girl was left alone with the 11 year old. She lowered her rich violet eyes and waited for her oncoming punishment from the older boy. He sighed and crouched down to become eye-level with her. "Do you want to come with me? You'll be safe from the rest of the people here if you do, I promise." She slowly raised her head and stared into his blue eyes for a moment. She nodded and followed him silently back to where he had came from.

-Present-

"Alright, alright, I'm coming!" Adrasteia yelled in response to my impatient growling. My Peruvian violet eyes remained closed until I sensed that the burgundy haired girl had passed me. I quickly re-opened my eyes and locked the door behind her; we were done in this city. I promptly marched into my position at the front of my team; as captain it was my duty to take charge in any and every situation. As leader no mistakes or flaws must appear; perfection at all costs.

"Do we really have to leave Germany so soon?" I heard Adrasteia mutter underneath her breath. Barely anyone ever told me anything to my face anymore; I was almost completely alone and I loved it. I sighed and continued down the hallway and out the door without making a sound. My deep plum eyes glared ahead of me in great disdain; nobody deserved to receive answers to basic questions. I sighed in annoyance when the rest of Einfach Schlicht's (team name) bickering continued. 'If only they knew just how hard this job is...How hard this job was to take, then maybe they'd give me a break every now and then,' I thought sullenly as we waited on the curb in the windy weather for our cab to take us to the airport once more.

-Once Reaching Japan-

"What do you mean we're being transferred to another team?" I exhaled again; I was anticipating this reaction from Carina, she never really took change that well when it came down to matters such as this. She was a fiery teen with blonde hair and ice blue eyes that now had a navy outline; she happened to be screaming; her name was Carina. She had been left in Ireland as a child of 13 with her distant relatives. Her father was a highly respected military officer from Germany. I knew that she would feel betrayed by this movement, but it was the only other available option.

"Carina san, your leader has already said that it'd be okay if we sent you to another team. I'm sorry, but the decision is final, you're splitting up as a team to go on to more successful and larger teams that have already made it this far." Mr. Dickenson was trying to reason, but I guess even the calmest of people needs to be strict every now and then.

Carina quickly turned her anger onto me. The only other member of the team, Adrasteia, was giving me a sharp look with her deep crimson eyes from where she stood quietly. Adrasteia's maroon hair floated about her body as she leaned silently against the wall. I fixed Carina a cold stare and, eventually, she backed down. I mumbled in a low tone in German to the two furious girls, but nothing I said seemed to calm them. 'I checked out the teams and the captains of those teams very carefully; there was nothing left unchecked, including criminal records; my hacking comes in handy every once in awhile. Why are they so irate with me when they should know by now that I'd always take care of them, even if I'm not the one watching their every step?' I thought solemnly and stood silently throughout the rest of the arduous meeting.

-Afterwards-

I sighed as we waited in anguish as the hours dragged on; why were the replacement teams so late? My body leaned against the grey plastered wall; my 'team' was sitting across from me; as far away as possible. I knew that they were muttering in lowered voices on how much they 'dreaded' this moment. 'Like they knew this was coming...It even surprised me.' I breathed out again and my amethyst eyes closed in impatience at the late arrival of the two captains that were to take in the two females of which didn't belong to me anymore. I drifted into an uneasy doze while contemplating if this really was 'for the best' like how Hiro sama had explained earlier on to me.

-Past-

It had been a year since the boy known as Spencer Petrov had found the young girl in the hallway, Acquilina. He quickly introduced her to his few friends: Tala Valkov, Bryan Kuznetsov, Ian Papov and Kai Hiwatari. They weren't too sure about this female for some time, but, eventually, Acquilina did earn their trust. The group was almost inseparable and when they were, the other wasn't too far behind.

The day after Kai's 9th birthday, she overheard a very private conversation between the head master and the founder of this nightmare realm. "We have to let him go, sir, the fool almost destroyed the whole Abbey! Do you know how much this is going to cost us? That explosion was strong enough to lure in the dead beats of Russia!" she heard the 'head master' yell from just outside the door to Mr. Hiwatari's office. She guessed that the fool that he referred to was Kai kun since he had just destroyed half of the Abbey only a few hours ago.

With those few words, her curiosity had risen and she decided to stay and eavesdrop. "Mr. Balkov, do not raise your voice to me and do not try to tell me how to raise my grandson!" she flinched when the founder of the Abbey, Voltaire Hiwatari, slammed his fist against his polished desk in ire towards his 'right hand man' and our tormenter, Boris Balkov. The older male growled in anger when Boris began to grovel to him; pleading and promising to 'make things better', she knew what that meant: more work for those who lived here and more scars to hide in her case.

Voltaire nodded and asked for their 'executioner' to leave, well, more like told Boris to depart. She hastily got up from where she crouched and scampered off to her friends. Her mind was racing as her steps tried in vain to catch up to her thought process. 'What are they going to do to Kai kun? They can't take him away, can they?' The little girl wondered as her steps gained momentum and her heart beat quickened.

-Present-

I opened my energy-filled, heliotrope eyes and glared at the two captains that walked through the door; Ray Kon and Kai Hiwatari... I snarled something like 'you finally came, eh?' under my breath; my fangs were carefully hidden from the two males that had entered not too long ago. Ray san seemed to catch what I growled and gave me a quizzical stare before Kai san reached out with a gloved hand and grabbed Adrasteia's arm roughly to pull the slender girl away from the wall. I shifted uneasily against the wall and 'ignored' my resentment of him and the way he was treating my former team-mate. Adrasteia gave me one last passing, ire filled glance before Kai san had dragged her out into the hallway hurriedly; something's never change.

As for Ray san and Carina, things weren't going as smoothly. I slowly uncrossed my arms and ankles and walked towards the two confidently, but my steps were measured. My deep violet eyes were fixed on Carina as I approached. The young Chinese man with long, black hair seemed exasperated by the time I was close enough to murmur incomprehensible German into Carina's ear. She shot me another hurt and thwarted look before she obliged to his will and followed him out. Both Adrasteia and Carina wanted to leave me behind as quickly as possible; their version of revenge and all that.

I slowly relaxed and allowed some of my kept in breath to leave from my mouth quietly. I reached up and placed my head in my cold hands once fully realizing what I had done; I ruined the next best thing to a friendship. I had no relations that I could call 'family' and no other to speak of...I drove the only other human being that gave me the time of day away. Alone; that was what I was and that was what I would remain to be. I was born into the chaos of this world, and I would leave it in the same state.

A knock on the door jolted me from my unperturbed condition; it was my turn now. I quickly stretched my body to ready myself for the oncoming turmoil and distress I knew would surely follow with the addition of my presence on that team; I needed a beer soon. 'I know that deep inside all that stands is forgiven, though, I know that they won't exonerate me,' I thought before walking towards the large doors.

I marched over to the door and opened it. The red-headed captain glared down at me and muttered what sounded like a 'hello'. I nodded in response and walked after him after he hastily walked away with heavy steps; he only did that so he could 'proclaim' his rank as leader to all. My cold amethyst eyes were fixed on his back as we ignored the rest of the stares following after our retreating steps. My chains clanged together as I trailed behind him. 'Was this what it was like for my team to leave my grasp over their training schedules? Like an impending doom that you can foresee in front of your path...I know that this will not be a good day.'

-Past-

The young girl was quickly slapped across the face by the jade haired abnormality; another of Boris' failed experiments. Acquilina's quiet yelp of pain reverberated along the dark, empty hallways in the Biovolt Area. Her body was thrown across the floor only so that it could be slammed into the wall once more. Her eyes were closed and her teeth were gritted. 'Why is this happening to me?' She thought while trying to think of somewhere other than in the present day, to happier times. The green-haired mutant licked the edge of his knife while his gleaming champagne-colored eyes scanned every inch of her bruised body.

"Now, let's see if you learn your lesson now, girlie! We will show you why people like you should only be here to feed us!" He snarled in such a dangerously low level while baring his sharp porcelain fangs; there was no one else in the vicinity with the two. Acquilina closed her crystalline violet eyes and waited for its gruesome hand to clutch her neck, again; it disgusted her. He smelled like rotting flesh, but that was only because he spent most of his days with other experiments; they were all dead.

'Things had been different when Kai kun was here with us...' Acquilina thought as his grip slowly tightened around her thin neck and her body was being raised by the freak that stood before her now. She knew that his always-present, depraved grin lingered on his face as he continued to beat her senseless. She knew because of the way his voice quivered and the way his eccentric laugh rang through her ears.

-Present-

I subconsciously reached up to touch my left arm as memories clouded my gruelling thoughts; some scars never heal. The leader of the infamous Blitzkriegboys stopped in front of a plain oak door. I watched his back wearily as he fished out the keys to the room hurriedly; I guess he still hasn't forgiven me. I nervously tensed up when more stares were received from passer by's or from the team across the hallway who ironically left their door open.

Tala turned around and fixed me with a steely glare; apparently he wasn't happy with me, not that I could blame him, I wasn't happy with myself at the moment, either. "Okay, here's the deal, Acquilina, you will be staying here, alone; there is no curfew and we don't care what you do in your spare time. I'll wake you up before the team goes out to train. You are expected to be up at 6:00 am and at the designated training spot at 6:30 am. If you're late, I hope you remember the punishment for it." He quickly growled out and tossed the keys rudely to me before he stalked away. 'As if I could forget what happened to me when I did something wrong at the Abbey...No, I will never forget,' I thought as my mind thought back to my 'tattoo's'. I watched him depart and a new kind of sorrow replaced the feelings of guilt that had been lingering around in my heart for some time; I was completely alone now, like I was back then. My team, Einfach Schlicht, was no more...

Cannot start to live and I cannot end my life


	2. Chapter 3

Neither Near nor Far

Chapter 2

-Present-

I woke with a start thanks to the horrendous dream that haunted me day and night. My breathing was quick and my luxuriant purple eyes were dilated. The sweat formed on my brow slowly made its way down my ghostly white face; as if my blood flow ceased to exist. The only sounds in the empty room were that of my laboured breathing and the sharp chirping of blue birds outside my window; oh how I wanted to stone them all.

I placed my clammy hands on my forehead and rested my head there for awhile. 'Why is it only _that_ moment that decided to hang around and loiter in my head? Much worse has happened to me than that but...It doesn't seem to go away...Sometimes, I guess; time doesn't heal all wounds...' I slowly reached down beside me and searched for my glass bottle filled with Vodka; I was never without it. I needed it most of the time so that I could escape from this world; this scathing world. In a few short, aggravating minutes I found it and hastily brought it up to my chest. I didn't hesitate to tear off the bottle cap that separated me from my deliverance from this burning world of pandemonium. I then brought my lips to the edge of the clear bottle and threw my head back so as to drink it all down; it was finished in a matter of minutes. I then discarded the now empty bottle and threw the covers off of my slim, athletic body.

'I'm surprised Tala hasn't tried to wake me up yet...Wait, what time is it?' I turned sluggishly around and narrowed my eyes at the large, bold red numbers on my alarm clock; it was 6:40 am. 'I can't believe I'm late...' I threw on my black clothes and meandered out the door while pulling on my black leather combat boots. 'I can't blow it this time...Back then it was different, but now I have to make it up to them,' I thought as I raced down the stairs in a sad effort to win against time; the race was always in the opposing favour. 'I let them down once...In the worst way possible...It ruined any trust that I might have acquired through my time spent with them at the Abbey. I just couldn't stay any longer...I couldn't keep on living the lie that we were alright, that _I_ was alright.'

15 minutes passed before I finally came to the training grounds behind the building. The Blitzkrieg Boys were already there; what a surprise. I calmly marched towards them with my head held in a superior way; my eyes were forward, anticipating their reactions before they noticed my sudden appearance. "Acquilina, get started on your training and we'll talk after," Tala sama growled at me. He glowered at me from where he stood; at least 10 inches away from everyone else. The Sun was out and there was a light breeze, but the good weather did little to improve my foul mood.

-Past-

Her scream sent chills up everyone's spines as it filled the Abbey easily. Dark crimson liquid oozed its way down her right arm and dropped loudly onto the cement floor. The scene resembled that of a river of blood as it flowed into the larger lakes, only so that it could flood the area in a ghastly amount of the deep red fluid. The hollow sound of it falling on the ground followed her whimpering and panting; she was in a vast amount of pain.

The aquamarine-haired freak show loomed over her crouched form. His loathsome grin was plastered onto his ethereal face as he stared at Acquilina in ominous glee. "We told you that we'd make sure you were taught your lesson, girlie!" His dark laugh, mixed with the tremor of the boy's volatile voice, echoed throughout and made everyone else in the Abbey shrink back into their cells; their fear was greater than their need to aid the child. He calmed down after a moment and kneeled in front of the small form, his bloodied claws with steal-like strength remained at his side as his sickly chamomile eyes seemed to brighten with obvious amusement at his art that was now etched down the young girls arm.

Acquilina dared to look up at the experiment that lingered above her. She wanted to get away from him; she wanted to be rid of him, but she knew that if she even tried to, he'd kill her. He snickered again and swiftly kicked the young girl before stalking off in search of his next victim; oh how everyone pitied who ever it may be.

Her right arm was now decorated with a wine-colored tribal dragon; it would remain with her forever. She winced and gradually lifted herself up from the floor. Acquilina's mind raced to find a solution to her steadily bleeding arm and she found one shortly. Her hands worked quickly to tear some fabric from her worn out jeans and tightly wound it around her arm; a home made tourniquet. 'It's engraved into my skin...I'll never be rid of this thing, even if I die...' Acquilina watched solemnly the back of her oppressor as he wandered away to resume his killing spree. "Viridian..." she murmured the beasts name before passing out in the dark and dirty hallway. It was arduous trying to imagine him as being human, of having a normal life.

The cobble stones surrounding Acquilina's still form were covered in thick, succulent blood. The smell of it could have brought many failures to her, though their trepidation of the one named Viridian over-ruled their thirst; their want for the child's blood as it coated the surface of the ground of which they strode. The substance filled all the cracks and notches in the rock easily as the pool stretched out among the floor; it enfolded her stagnant figure effortlessly.

-Present-

My arm began to throb unremittingly; all during practise and even after Tala's 'pep talk'. I tried to disregard the pain in my arm but it didn't seem to succeed. 'I need my pain killers...I should have taken them before I left; I'm such a fool. Well, at least I have some to ease this unquenchable ache,' I thought as I trudged up the stairs to my room.

I was greeted by silence when I opened the door; it was so different from what it was back then when Carina and Adrasteia were with me...I slammed the door shut (while killing my train of thought; I knew where it would lead to) and continued marching inside my vicinity; it was ineffectual to think of such things when they weren't going to come back. When I reached my bag I tossed everything out to find my prescription drugs; ironically, it was at the base of the bag. I hastily took the recommended dosage and relaxed for the first time today; it was 1:02 pm.

The pounding inside my arm slowly decreased and, eventually, became a memory only to be forgotten. My thoughts slowly drifted back to my dream; another nightmare of my child hood. 'Some scars will never truly heal... Though, every scar is a bridge to somebody's broken heart.'

-Past-

She woke up to the sound of distraught voices above her; was something wrong, or was she dreaming? Acquilina's eyes blinked back the sleep that she had yielded to earlier that day; the loss of blood was most assuredly the reason behind that nap. The sounds slowly drifted away as the child of 9 years stood from where she had fallen. Her friends, the Demolition boys, were there.

Ian was the first to break the horrid silence. "Acquilina what happened to you?" She smiled kindly and waited till Bryan was finished hitting him till she replied.

"Viridian happened to cross my path while being in a homicidal mood. I'm sorry to have worried you..." her voice drifted off quickly and her once recognizable words became a murmur of jumbled noises. Acquilina's voice was always unobtrusive while addressing anyone, so the boys were used to her sentences that seemed to run off into a whole different section of incomprehensible syllables and grunts.

"It's alright, Acquilina, it happens...Come on, we'll fix you up," Bryan said soothingly while concealing his anxiety for the poor child; what had she done to deserve such cruelty? He took the 9 year old female's small hand and led her to their cell; they had medical supplies in there due to injuries against Tala, mostly.

'I owe them so much...I never want to leave their sides as long as I live...Even if our time will forever be in this abyss of suffering,' Acquilina thought as she was carefully being led away from where she had been attacked prior to their arrival.

-Present: Night Hours-

I wandered aimlessly around the dark streets of Tokyo. 'This place...It seems so tedious compared to Europe,' I thought dully while allowing myself to slowly relax. I passed underneath a lamp post as I continued walking to my destination; a fast flowing river only an hour or so away from where I called residence in this pathetic city of lights. As I passed beneath the radiant glow of the light all of my multiple piercings glinted off from the glare. 'This day could have gone better...Though, it had gone well compared to what I had anticipated.' My thoughts had been interrupted by a shudder that rocked my body as my heavy steps continued to fall onto the cement sidewalk; I was freezing. 'It never occurred to me that it might be cold down here. Stupid instincts...They always lead me in the wrong direction when I choose to obey them.'

I shook my head in disbelief at how imprudent my actions were right now. Here I was, walking alone in the dead of night, in a city of which I held no pleasure with. I had left my coat at the room that I spent the rest of my day in alone; the night was the only place left for me now.

The slight wind rippling across the sidewalk alerted me of how late it was becoming; I couldn't care less if I was late, again, for training tomorrow. My sharp and dangerous deep amethyst eyes took in everything surrounding me, including the thugs in front of my path hiding in a pitch alley. I sighed softly and the soft glow of the oncoming light glinted off of my pointed, glistening white teeth. My hands relaxed at my sides as more of the glow bounced off of the spikes on my knuckles. 'Whoever they are...They're going to have a quick and painful wake up call,' I thought bitterly but restlessly; it truly had been a long day.

As my quick, but measured, strides brought me past the opening in the thick cement walls, I could already hear the four 'men' creeping up behind me with sloth-like movements; a man would never take so much time to attack a woman. My authoritative steps abruptly halted. The four decided now to make their move. Oh, how wrong they truly were.

I made no sound. In four lethal (and strategic) actions; they had no time to react, I had each of the burly males on the ground. They were all covered in their own wine colored blood. My blood boiled, but I resumed my blissful walk with such grace; one would have thought that I hadn't discontinued my pace at all. Their bodies twitched on the ground behind me and I faintly overheard their moans and grunts of pain and aggravation, though some had already passed.

Again, the wind ripped past me and howled next to my ear; I wanted to flinch, though it came to no avail. The gust brought along the scent of the liquid pooling around them. The moon, bright and peaceful as it looked down upon us, accented the dark circles underneath my deep, ebony-colored eyes. The moon was the only one who would know of this horrible night. I closed my black eyes for a moment while I contemplated turning back and finishing the job hastily. But, when I re-opened my pitch-as-night eyes, they were slitted down the middle, and it was the most gruesome form of red.

-Past-

She awoke with a start to the rash yelling from down the hall. 'Who was being tortured this early in the morning?' Acquilina thought acrimoniously as she tried in vain to get back to sleep; it didn't work. The screams escalated to such a high degree, that it sent cold shivers down her spine.

Acquilina slowly stood up from where she had made her bed. Her small, feeble steps stopped just short of her door. 'It feels as if something is telling me not to move...My instincts I bet,' the child thought innocently. What she didn't know, was that down the hallway from her cell, Tala was in the midst of another of Boris' 'procedures'. The young girl waited. Finally, it ceased and relief flickered across Acquilina's ghostly pale face. 'It was probably nothing...' she tried to convince herself, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she just made a horribly significant mistake by lingering in her chamber.

Meanwhile, Tala was writhing on the cold coble stone floor as shots of pain seared through his small frame. His icicle like eyes were tightly shut even when his tormentor had finished probing him with various sizes of needles. Tala was one of the many that succumbed to Boris Balkov's punishments meant for 'bad-children-that-were-too-far-away-to-be-helped-anymore'.

In the dark laboratory, an unstable chuckle emitted from the back of the area. Boris had left the injured male with one of the worst beasts ever 'created'; Viridian. The red head opened his porcelain blue eyes to watch as the slender criminal crept closer to his chained body, a sinisterly hazardous grin marring his ghoulish features.

"Well, hello Tala," the avocado-haired abnormality whispered in the dark, "we didn't think that you would be here so soon...Forgive us, as we're a bit unprepared..." Viridian's grin turned devilish as he approached the terrified Tala. "We'll have fun, though, Tala...Yes, we will always have our fun," he growled out before lunging at the horrified red head.

-Present: Room-

I had woken on time this morning, which didn't surprise me; I usually didn't sleep after concluding one's 'life'. I spat the foul tasting toothpaste into the sink before me. The dastardly chirping birds apparently rose with the Sun; they would surely pay for their distracting sounds. Other than my faint breathing and my toothbrush, there were no other sounds in the normally silent, desolate room. I reached over with a still hand and washed off my brush only to replace it by the edge of the shimmering sink. My vibrant violet eyes were closed now; they were no longer angry.

'I did not commit any misconduct last night. Those bastards were partially alive when I left them,' I tried to convince myself while I changed out of my clothes from the previous day and into clean, new clothes. I quickly fastened the silver buckles on my iron-toed boots and pulled my pant leg down. An inaudible sigh escaped my ashen lips when I moved towards the door right before Tala knocked on it; it reminded me of the old days.

He greeted me with a cold glare and moved past my door; something I had to get used to from now on. I followed him, my head held high and my incisive eyes kept a good hold on Tala's back. My steps were calculated and weighty as I pursued my new 'captain'. There was nothing on my face that indicated that I had not slept in 24 hours, though, some looked unsettled from the dark purple circles underneath my eyes. With my jaw firmly set and my hands clenched tightly at my sides, I appeared intimidating to most, if not all.

My eyes moved ever so slightly to gaze at the red heads' back and shoulders. I inwardly shuddered from the memories. 'I need to start ignoring my intuition, though I should have learned that lesson long ago...When my feeling to stay broke all reliance that they had in me; when the feeling to _leave_ cost me the closest thing I came to love. But there are no happy endings for something such as me; a hybrid concept, a disastrous assay...'

some mistakes cannot be forgotten or forgiven


	3. Chapter 4

Neither Near nor Far

Chapter 3

-Present-

The weeks that followed were mechanical; nothing changed. I woke up, executed my training and went back. Eventually, I lurked outside after dusk had set. However, when I reopened my eyes from another sleepless night, I knew that something had altered. The petty birds that usually disturbed me every morning didn't make a sound. 'How peculiar...My tactics for destroying them will have to wait...' I thought bitterly; the one morning that I had time to demolish those infantile creatures and they decided to conceal themselves within the shadows of the tree that hung about outside my clear window!

After I dressed in my regular black attire, I left the confines of my 'dwelling'. My heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway that ordinarily had somebody in it. It was entirely empty now, which was quite unusual. I ignored all of these tell-tale signs and marched on.

Once outside, I came to realize the cause of the emptiness and silence of the hotel. My rich violet eyes narrowed into slits when they rested on two specific people; Carina and Adrasteia. 'Why the hell are they even here?' My mood wasn't particularly pleasant these days. I stopped at the sight of them with red, slitted pupils that had black irises.

"Why are you here?" I managed to snarl at them. My lips curled back slightly, revealing my pointed fangs, as I spit the question out at them. My raspy voice that erupted when I was angry ceased to startle them anymore.

"We don't have to answer to you anymore, Acquilina," Carina replied in her impassive voice. Her stormy-blue eyes fixed themselves on my slight figure as she spoke, "but, if you must know, we were forced to train here." A low snarl ripped from my throat, but I remained silent; Kai was approaching.

His own reserved eyes flickered from Adrasteia to me as he came forward; he wasn't happy to 'meet' me. I watched attentively as his heavy, porcelain–white scarf remained lifeless at his side. His muscular arms crossed over his toned chest, which was covered with a navy shirt. Kai maintained his silence easily as he stood across from me. Pride lingered on his features; undoubtedly the most distinguished part of his personality.

Without a word, he turned on his heel and left, Adrasteia glared at me once more, and hastily followed after her team captain. I watched them leave me behind with no vacillation. My eyes resumed their normal, pained look as they continued to trail after Adrasteia and Kai's backs. 'This was the last picture I left them with...' I thought with remorse, 'don't they understand that I did it for them? That I did it for myself? I'm filled with regret every time I'm forced to think of that cataclysmic day.'

I shut my eyes and turned my face to the side; I must never watch that scene play itself out before me again. Who was I kidding? I earned this punishment. I let everyone down, again, why shouldn't I be ostracized? I lifted one leg just above the ground and retreated to the shadows. With my hands clenched into fists at my sides, I disappeared as quietly as I had come.

'_Give up...This life wasn't meant for you. Go home...Nobody wants you...No one needs you.'_

-Past-

"Why didn't you just go and help him, Acquilina?" Bryan roared at the child. Tears stung her eyes and left red trails down her cheeks. The boy with grey hair shook in anger. He didn't understand why she stayed in her cell when the girl could hear Tala's anguish from down the brick hall. He didn't understand why she cried in front of him when the child should be begging for forgiveness. No, Bryan would never get the full picture.

He struck the wall again and stormed out, leaving the young girl behind. She watched him go with glistening purple eyes and fell to her knees when he vanished from her view. Acquilina sobbed for what seemed like hours to her, but were truly only minutes. 'I have to make this right, again...If only something like that could be made right.' She thought after her crying eased up.

Down the hallway from her, Tala writhed in agony. Viridian had etched horrendous scars all over the red heads' back and parts of his shoulders. Tala's pristine ice cold eyes were shut tightly as were his sharp teeth, 'I will never show such weakness again,' he thought as his friends worked to slow the bleeding down. He would soon drown in his own blood if Bryan, Spencer and Ian didn't find a way to suspend the blood flow.

-Present: Nightfall-

The day seemed to go by so quickly. It seemed just hours ago that my anomalous morning turned for the worse with the arrival of Hiwatari, Kai. 'I doubt that anyone even bothered to look for me. Maybe this will be my escape...This might have been my last day to ever see those fools again.' I smirked ever so slightly; this wasn't such a bad idea.

But, my peace was ended abruptly when my acute hearing caught wind of voices. This wouldn't have bothered me much, except for the fact that these people were calling my name. 'This can't be happening to me. Why would anyone call my name?' I thought with little comprehension. I listened harder, tilting my head in the process.

"Acquilina!" The deep, quieter tone of his voice matched with Spencer's; why was he looking for me? After a moment, I heard my name again, this time a few 100 metres south of where I was; it sounded like Carina. In half an hour I heard all of my old team, my new team and voices from other various teams.

I cringed at the thought of why anyone would be trying to locate someone or something as hazardous as me. My head rolled from lack of food and the much needed rest my body yearned for. I would appear to most as an ordinary drunkard, except for one thing: I wasn't under the influence this time. I helplessly clutched at the torn remains of sanity I held so dear. With the loss of everything that had kept me level with the ground I truly had nothing left to live for. My intelligence was lost, my emotions were alien to me and happiness was something only heard of in folklore. No, this wasn't a _real_ life.

"Acquilina," I heard the shouts again. How futile were their efforts. 'Even if I had the strength to drag my body over to the mouth of this alley, I'm positive I can't respond to their cries,' I thought with something even more alien; guilt.

As the last few minutes of life ticked by, I tried to listen to their whereabouts. They'd find my body in no time, but not in the time frame that I've been given to live. As the darkness finally secured its hold on my consciousness, I sifted through the blissful memories I had left. A small, pained smile formed on my ashen lips and my neck hung low. Eyes that once held so much life slowly diminished into emptiness, and finally, lifelessness. My eyes closed for what seemed to be the last time. With my hand outstretched beside me, palm up facing the sky, I grasped the last tendrils of air that whisked themselves by my stagnant figure.

The wind picked up strands of my slowly greying hair and swirled them around my bowed head and hunched shoulders. Small loose pebbles were knocked against my open hand with the force of the air. The rotten smell of the alley would soon be joined by the smell of diseased flesh; my flesh.

"Acquilina, Acquilina!" quiet voices ran on through the night while the ears they were trying to reach would remain deaf forever.

-Past: 1st World Championship-

Tala Valkov was climbing down the steps from the dish he froze over not too long ago. He had a smile on his face even though he had lost. As soon as he shook Tyson Granger's gloved hand, he knew that things were going to change for the better this time. The red head turned back to his team, the Demolition Boys, and led them away from the highlighted area of the beydish. He knew that Boris wasn't going to be around anymore. A feeling of freedom surged through each of the boys simultaneously.

Once they were clear of the crowds, they all ran back to the abbey; there was one thing that needed to be done before they made their escape. 'Today is the beginning of our life, I just know this to be true,' Bryan thought as the four boys sprinted back to their girl, Acquilina.

The hinges creaked as they forced open the barred cell door. The young child threw her arms around her team mates with tears streaming down her pale face. 'They won, they won!' Were her only thoughts as she was lifted into Tala's arms and carried away from the place of death; her only home.

Wind rustled up their hair and by the time they made it back to a house that would be theirs (thanks to Mr. Dickenson); the moon presented itself to the midnight sky. Its face of hard rock looked down on them; both beautiful and fearful. The house was empty, its shutters were drawn. The basic white washed walls held in secrets of what lay on the inside.

They all marched inside and drifted off to their own rooms. Acquilina slept soundly for once in her life; it was possibly the only time in her whole life. She had been spoken to by Mr. Dickenson earlier on in the days of the tournament, and she knew what she must do. Acquilina had to leave her safety net, the Demolition Boys, for they needed to do what must be done without her aid. Acquilina was forced into taking care of a different, older team. The child was forced to leave and do the unthinkable: make a national team out of two resentful girls.

'Maybe one day I'll be back around...But, if it keeps me any longer than needed to be away from them, I don't know what I'll do. They've got to understand it's a hard life that I'm going through.' She thought as she finally settled into a deep sleep; the last of their kind for her.

-Past: Leaving-

"She's what...?" Bryan whispered in disbelief. The grey haired boy stood in the doorway of the house, his eyes wide with incredulity. Tala held the single note that explained her sudden disappearance. His own eyes reflected the same light one would have after just hearing someone had passed away.

Bryan's shoulders slumped forward and he dragged himself to where Tala stood. He grabbed the letter from Tala and read it: _I'm sorry, I needed to leave. It's not you, it's me. Goodbye and always remember that I'll always love you, even if you forget me._

'She left us...Left me. I love her! But, she's gone now and I'll never see her again. I won't forgive her for betraying us like this; I can't forgive her for this treason.' Tala thought as he climbed the stairs in grief. As he walked down the hallway lost in his tormented mind, he absently went into her room and sat there. '_Always remember that I love you...even if that love will one day cost my life.'_

-It's the game of life. Do I win or do I lose? One day they're gonna shut the game down. I gotta have as much fun and go around the board as many times as I can before it's my turn to leave-

End


End file.
